Well effluent including oil, water and gas is conventionally treated with heat in order to separate the water from the oil and to prevent solidification of liquid components of the effluent. In order to accomplish the desired heat treatment of well effluent the latter is received in a separator in which gas may readily separate from the oil and water components of the effluent and the oil and water components of the effluent may be heated in order to drive the water from the oil.
Various types of separators and heating structures for state of the art separators heretofor have been provided. However, many previously known heating structures are not of the type wherein well gas may be used as a power source to drive pump structure for pumping heat transfer liquid and thereafter used as a source of fuel for a burner. Accordingly, a need exist to provide a heat treating system which may not only utilize well gas under pressure for powering a heat transfer liquid circulating pump but which may subsequently also be used as fuel for a gas burner and pilot. In this manner, gas fuel consumption is maintained at a minimum.
Examples of well effluent heat treating systems utilizing some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,601,903, 2,657,760, 2,726,729, 2,758,665, 2,765,045 and 3,318,071.